Dennis Farina, of Law & Order, Dies

Dennis Farina, a familiar TV and movie face who played roles on both sides of the law, died Monday morning in a Scottsdale, Ariz., hospital. He was 69.

His rep, Lori De Waal, tells the Associated Press that Farina had suffered a blood clot in his lung.

A Chicago native from a large Sicilian-American family, Farina served for 18 years on the Chicago police force's burglary division before turning to acting when he was 37.

While his most famous role was probably that of Det. Joe Fontana on Law & Order from 2004 to 2006, Farina racked up an impressive list of credits that included the movies Saving Private Ryan for director Steven Spielberg, That Old Feeling with Bette Midler, Get Shorty with John Travolta, and Midnight Run with Robert DeNiro.

Most recently he was in the short-lived Michael Mann HBO drama series Luck, with Dustin Hoffman.